This book is written for computer programmers, analysts and scientists, as well as computer science students, as an intro duction to the principles of distributed system design. The emphasis is placed on a clear understanding of the concepts, rather than on details; and the reader will learn about the struc ture of distributed systems, their problems, and approaches to their design and development. The reader should have a basic knowledge of computer systems and be familiar with modular design principles for software development. He should also be aware of present-day remote-access and...